Baba stands down at Contact, Manchester

Baba Israel will be resigning as artistic director of Contact in Manchester in December for personal reasons.

Baba has been at Contact since June 2009. During that time he has led the organisation through a period of intense change, involving new digital and international platforms, as well as initiating new money-making opportunities. 

Charles Lauder, chair of Contact’s board, said, “Contact would like to be pay tribute to the tireless effort Baba brought to his role. Contact has exciting adventures ahead, which I am sure Baba would have loved the chance to share. We would like to thank him and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Baba himself said, “When I first came to Contact on tour with my father in 2005 I was amazed at what I found, a theatre that was so much more. Contact is a dynamic social space full of creativity and diversity where young people hold real influence.

"My father passed last summer and I am returning to New York to look after my mother and to begin a new journey as an independent artist. I know that Contact will only grow stronger because of the staff, board, partners, funders and young people who keep Contact’s vision clear and expansive."